Re-Marking Twain's Equator
In 1895, at 59 years of age, Mark Twain was the preeminent entertainer in the world. And he was broke.
So Twain, his wife Olivia and their daughter, Clara, embarked on an around-the-world lecture tour. When he finished, he wrote "Following the Equator".
In 1995, I received 2,000 rolls of Kodachrome and free processing as a grant from Kodak to retrace Twain's steps on the 100th anniversary of his journey. In all, the project took me through 11 countries in 10 months using 9 credit cards.
Highlights include photographing Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Jeff Koons and Arthur C. Clarke. But mainly, the book is comprised of photographs of everyday life along Twain's route.
In researching this project, I read his book many times as well as every letter written by every member of the group. I have pulled passages from the book and the letters and paired them with my photographs in an effort to show how the world has changed and, in some cases, how it has not changed. To see the mock up please visit: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2027588